BTW just in case anyone has a similar issue, I was able to resolve this after the FIVE service requests and some elbow grease on my part.
TL;DR: This bolt that holds the intermediate shaft universal joint had loosened, causing the play that I had experienced:
Full Story
4th Visit:
After my last post, I took it in to Tesla in the fall of 2021 and explained everything that I had researched and observed including the borescope footage of the universal joint slipping on the steering rack shaft. I explained about the 3 other times I had come in with the issue but this time they refused to look at my car, refused to watch the video of the shaft slipping, and insisted that their Master Technician had previously looked at it and said that this was normal and in-line for a car this age. When I pushed back, he he said he would have his Master Technician look at it again. Less than 5 minutes later, he returned saying that it looked normal. I told him that it wasn't normal and that I was very disappointed since I love this car but hated to drive it now because it felt so bad. He actually pointed over to the sales reps in the showroom and said, "You can talk to them if you'd like to get a new car", he thanked me, and walked back to the Service Center.
After that encounter, I was so frustrated that I took a bit of a break from working on it. Since I don't drive much, I took the Model Y places and the Model S sadly sat in the garage, gathering dust.
Home Work:
Earlier in February, I started to get the itch to revisit the issue as I kept looking at videos of Plaids, etc (my way of stopping myself from buying one
). I removed the frunk liner and everything else required and fired up a newer, higher resolution borescope that I had purchased. What I discovered is that there was a little green line marked on that bolt & joint that was not lined up:
With the steering quite difficult to reach in the dual-motor S', I put together about 16" of extensions plus a wobble socket. I was able to get some decent access to the bolt by going over the driver's side axel. After a LOT of attempts, I was able to get the socket seated well on the bolt and gave it a turn until the torque wrench limit hit at 40ft-lbs (up from the 37ft-lbs @Gtech mentioned to accommodate for some reduction from the wobble socket). After a follow-up inspection with the borescope, the paint was closer to lining up, but not perfect. When testing, I noticed that the steering wheel play was gone but unfortunately, there was now a quiet popping noise and slight slipping only when turning hard to the left. Overall feel was MUCH improved over the sloppiness of before though. I was thankful for the audible sound and feeling because now Tesla couldn't deny that there was anything "normal" about this.
Since my car needed the recall for the secondary hood latch, I figured I would give it one last go and put this issue down to be worked on as well. Unfortunately, the nearest appointment was weeks away, so I waited....
Fifth Visit:
The last two times I had brought my car in, the service employee who "helped" me was the gruff, non-committal Service Manager. He was always very quick to dismiss everything and would never confirm if something could, should, or would be fixed. Thankfully I did not see him around that day and I got to work with Tiffany at the San Antonio SC, who is GREAT BTW. She went out to the car with me, sat in the driver's seat, immediately noticed the popping/slipping and said that they would fix it. After 5 hours or so, she called me back and said that they had gotten it resolved and they had found a bolt that was "out of torque spec"
. I was still very apprehensive at this point but when we picked up the car the next day (coincidentally to drop off the Model Y for a seat bolster issue), it handled like a DREAM again!
It made me so happy to have my car back to the way it was! It was almost a year and a half since I first noticed the issue so I had almost forgotten how it felt before the slipping. Everything is tight, compliant, and exactly how it should be. Although I'd still love a Plaid, maybe in the future, as this one still has some life left in her
Bonus: The Model Y's passenger seat was missing some foam in the right bolster and when we picked it up, she had a brand new seat WITH power lumbar
TL;DR: This bolt that holds the intermediate shaft universal joint had loosened, causing the play that I had experienced:
Full Story
4th Visit:
After my last post, I took it in to Tesla in the fall of 2021 and explained everything that I had researched and observed including the borescope footage of the universal joint slipping on the steering rack shaft. I explained about the 3 other times I had come in with the issue but this time they refused to look at my car, refused to watch the video of the shaft slipping, and insisted that their Master Technician had previously looked at it and said that this was normal and in-line for a car this age. When I pushed back, he he said he would have his Master Technician look at it again. Less than 5 minutes later, he returned saying that it looked normal. I told him that it wasn't normal and that I was very disappointed since I love this car but hated to drive it now because it felt so bad. He actually pointed over to the sales reps in the showroom and said, "You can talk to them if you'd like to get a new car", he thanked me, and walked back to the Service Center.
After that encounter, I was so frustrated that I took a bit of a break from working on it. Since I don't drive much, I took the Model Y places and the Model S sadly sat in the garage, gathering dust.
Home Work:
Earlier in February, I started to get the itch to revisit the issue as I kept looking at videos of Plaids, etc (my way of stopping myself from buying one
). I removed the frunk liner and everything else required and fired up a newer, higher resolution borescope that I had purchased. What I discovered is that there was a little green line marked on that bolt & joint that was not lined up:With the steering quite difficult to reach in the dual-motor S', I put together about 16" of extensions plus a wobble socket. I was able to get some decent access to the bolt by going over the driver's side axel. After a LOT of attempts, I was able to get the socket seated well on the bolt and gave it a turn until the torque wrench limit hit at 40ft-lbs (up from the 37ft-lbs @Gtech mentioned to accommodate for some reduction from the wobble socket). After a follow-up inspection with the borescope, the paint was closer to lining up, but not perfect. When testing, I noticed that the steering wheel play was gone but unfortunately, there was now a quiet popping noise and slight slipping only when turning hard to the left. Overall feel was MUCH improved over the sloppiness of before though. I was thankful for the audible sound and feeling because now Tesla couldn't deny that there was anything "normal" about this.
Since my car needed the recall for the secondary hood latch, I figured I would give it one last go and put this issue down to be worked on as well. Unfortunately, the nearest appointment was weeks away, so I waited....
Fifth Visit:
The last two times I had brought my car in, the service employee who "helped" me was the gruff, non-committal Service Manager. He was always very quick to dismiss everything and would never confirm if something could, should, or would be fixed. Thankfully I did not see him around that day and I got to work with Tiffany at the San Antonio SC, who is GREAT BTW. She went out to the car with me, sat in the driver's seat, immediately noticed the popping/slipping and said that they would fix it. After 5 hours or so, she called me back and said that they had gotten it resolved and they had found a bolt that was "out of torque spec"
. I was still very apprehensive at this point but when we picked up the car the next day (coincidentally to drop off the Model Y for a seat bolster issue), it handled like a DREAM again!It made me so happy to have my car back to the way it was! It was almost a year and a half since I first noticed the issue so I had almost forgotten how it felt before the slipping. Everything is tight, compliant, and exactly how it should be. Although I'd still love a Plaid, maybe in the future, as this one still has some life left in her
Bonus: The Model Y's passenger seat was missing some foam in the right bolster and when we picked it up, she had a brand new seat WITH power lumbar
Right, silly me, let me check and get back to you with update! Thanks Gtech! 
